Project Teen Challenge Netherlands

Visiting Life Store at Teen Challenge Netherlands

Earlier this year we visited the Teen Challenge Life Center in Heerhugowaard, The Netherlands.

Various services and activities in the area of ​​care and welfare come together in this beautiful building. Life Center houses it all: Life Care (care and counseling rooms), Life House (shelter and support for people who are in trouble), Life Café (meeting place and community center) and Life Store (secondhand shop).

We received an extensive tour of the building, we watched a film about Teen Challenge and of course we brainstormed about activities, campaigns and fundraising activities.

Life Café, a great meeting place

Part of the work of Teen Challenge Netherlands is called The Gate, which are youth centers connected to local churches. This outreach work focuses on prevention ... reaching teenagers with the gospel before they get into trouble because of drugs and alcohol. A much, much needed ministry.

Through meetings and personal conversations, but also through films, flyers and books, people are reached daily with a message of hope.

Teen Challenge Netherlands is currently working on a special edition of the world-famous book The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson. These books will be ideal as hand-outs and conversation starters. 

We would like to help them with a donation for the printing costs and publication of this book; on the condition that we get a box for our coffee house / shop  of course 😀

Life Magazine 1958

We had this project application on our desk for a while (yes, we have a waiting list) and earlier this week director Stephan Barendse called us with the announcement that the book is almost ready to go to print.

So, if you have it on your heart to help, please do so! Send your gift to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht. make sure to mention TC Netherlands.

Teen Challenge Netherlands will celebrate 50 years in 2019!

New season prison ministry

Krijn & Cora in front of the prison

Earlier this year we wrote about the prison ministry of Traveling Light. Board member Cora Donk, who also runs the secondhand shop, is involved in this ministry in the penitentiary prison in Dordrecht.

She serves as a volunteer in the interdenominational team that organizes the church services and she is also involved in giving the Alpha course.

With the new winter season ahead, we are thankful to announce that her husband Krijn Donk (who oversees our sports team) has signed up for prison ministry as well.

Together they will be involved in the church services in the prison in Dordrecht. In addition, they will also give the Alpha course in the penitentiary prison in Rotterdam, location Hoogvliet (formerly City Prison Rotterdam).

For the Alpha course that is coming up, we have bought a large stack of books. While going through these books, the men and women in prison will learn that there is a Heavenly Father who loves them and has a much better plan with their lives.

It is great that in addition to all the countries we visit and the dozens of projects we support, we can also be a blessing in our own country in different ways.

Changed lives. It keeps us going, because we believe it is always possible!

If you want to support this work, please do so. You can make your gifts payable to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht.

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This Friday night there will be Re-Store again (healing room). The door of our shop will be open to those who need a touch of God's love. There are people present to pray with you for healing, recovery and deliverance. Door open between 7:30 and 9:30 pm.

Tonight (Wednesday, September 12) the Discipleship course will start again in our shop. We will dive into the Bible to see what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in the world today. We meet every other week on Wednesday. Door opens at 7:30 pm.

Report work week Tuscany

The Italian editions of Marja's book are a blessing

We are looking back at a very special time in Italy. The weekend prior to the work week in Tuscany, we (Jan and Marja) visited the city of Genoa.

We took a tour of the sea aquarium and the old city center and on Sunday morning we spoke at Chiesa Ev. della Riconciliazione.

We have known Pastor Daniele Marzano for many years through our Teen Challenge network. With a team of volunteers he runs the street and coffee house in Genoa.

Team work

As we drove back and forth between Genoa and Recco (where we stayed with friends), we noticed how centrally located the bridge is that collapsed on Tuesday, August 14th. Wherever we went we passed it.

The disaster has had a huge impact on the city, somehow also for the better ... hands are being put together to help the hundreds of people who had to leave their houses (under the bridge).

On Monday we continued our journey towards Tuscany. We met the rest of the group in the medieval town of Massa Maritima. From there we drove together to the therapeutic community Comunita Brezzano.

Another great job done!

For the fifth year we organized a work week there.

With great enthusiasm we chopped a huge amount of wood, sawn it, split it and piled it up. In the evening we sat outside (by a campfire) to think and talk about our theme: Hope for the Future. The scripture we used for that was Romans 15:13.

We had a wonderful time together, a week in which we learned a lot from each other, not to mention from God himself who gave us the words through the Holy Spirit to pray for and with each other.

Sunday morning Bible study

Thank you Adrie, Anja, Henk, Jan, Marja, Teske and Ynse for a great job done. It was nice to spend a week together. Who knows what we are going to do next year ...

Donations for our projects are always welcome at St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

We are currently fundraising for project Teen Challenge rehab center in Lebanon.